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Descartes 'Three Kinds Of Skepticism'

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Question 1: Describe in your own words the three kinds of skepticism defined in Chapter 7. Explain which (if any) would best describe Descartes’ method and give reasons for your judgment.
First, Commonsense Skepticism provides the opportunity for us to know many of the most obvious things that we know. This includes the truth of simple perceptions, such as is my wife tells me there are elephants standing in our backyard, I know with certainty there are none there. Or, that if someone tells me that nothing will happen to me if I step out in front of a moving bus, I know for certain that I will have a great chance of getting hurt if I do that. These are easy conclusions based in commonsense to problems that can keep humans reasonably safe. …show more content…

Why does Plato have Socrates say that the true philosopher will welcome death? How does this tie in with Plato’s theory of knowledge? Foremost among Plato's introduction of the Theory of Forms is the idea of Being. The theory proposes that abstract concepts, such as courage or justice or beauty or goodness, exist as immaterial and unchanging ideas. Plato sought to prove that the soul pre-exists due to the innate ideas that we have in our minds, that could not otherwise have come from our sensory experiences. (Miller, p. 189)
According to the Phaedo, true philosophers spend their entire lives preparing for death and dying, so it would be uniquely odd if they were to be sad when the moment of death finally arrived. Death, Socrates explains, is the separation of the soul from the body. Thus the soul, leaving the body at death, is liberated and fulfills his lifetime goal of the search for absolute knowledge. (Miller, p. 189) This is the connection to Plato’s Theory of Forms, the soul derives certain knowledge from the Forms, that is otherwise inexplicably …show more content…

Explain Chomsky’s contributions to the theory of knowledge. In what sense is he a rationalist? What problems could be raised about his theory?
Chomsky proposed a theory of language acquisition, which holds that at least some knowledge about language exists in humans at birth. Additionally, that all languages share some properties of organization and structure. (Miller, p. 198)
Chomsky’s research reinforces the idea of innate knowledge by treating the innate idea as a fixed form (common grammar hypothesis), which resembles the rationalist doctrine of ideas. (Miller, p. 199)
The validity of this innate knowledge is questionable, due to the appearance that it is founded on intuitions. This leads to questions, such as; Where does this knowledge come from? How can it be known that the knowledge is pure and actually true? (Miller, p. 200)

5. Fully describe Locke’s criticisms against theories of innate ideas. Why is it difficult to prove your ideas correspond to reality if you hold his theory of knowledge?
Locke disagrees with the theory that human beings are born knowing certain things. His stance takes two basic forms. He states that are minds process “external” and “internal experiences. He further states that says these experiences are either part of the passive mind; the simple ideas that come from our senses and perceptions, or it can be about the active mind; complex ideas that are formed by combining simple ones. (Miller, p.

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